With 42 playable characters available, and two more coming in Update 2.3 with the arrival of Arataki Itto and Gorou, it can be hard to know what your best options are before embarking on your journey to defeat the most great threats from Teyvat.
That's where this guide comes in, with tier lists of each of the best characters based on their primary weapon. Although some of them can be difficult to obtain due to their rarity, their effectiveness and usefulness in battle make them essential pieces for any team.
Genshin Impact Character Tier List - How It Works
These tier lists will be divided into four tiers:
- SS level: The best characters in the game, taking into account the current metagame.
- Level S: Strong characters who should excel in most situations.
- Level A: Good characters who can balance your team.
- Level B: Not so bad characters, but they should be replaced by better ones as soon as you get the chance.
- Level C: Only in case of emergency, or if you don't have a character to fill for a specific role.
It goes without saying, but it's worth pointing out nonetheless, tier lists aren't an exact science, especially in a game where most of your party preferences will depend on your luck or even your favorites, however, these lists will give you a better understanding of how to compose the best team in Genshin Impact.
So, without further ado, let's get started.
Arc characters
Thanks to his elemental burst, Venti can create a lot of CC while his high energy recharge rate allows him to spam his abilities faster. As for Ganyu, she can do a lot of skill combos that can deal big damage to mobs.
Tartaglia has one of the highest DPS through her arsenal, also having melee damage using her Hydro Daggers. Yoimiya has good DPS, thanks to his firework-based attacks as well as his Pyro AoE skills.
Diona can provide plenty of shields and healing, while her Cryo abilities can easily freeze multiple enemies at once. Fischl can deal tons of Electro DMG through her Oz crow, useful for many elemental reactions, however, she is overshadowed by Sara's power.
Aloy is a good DPS dealer, as she can hit hard when combined with her Predator bow, unfortunately her potential is limited as she is only available to PlayStation players. Kujou Sara has a lot of potential as a support and sub-DPS unit, thanks to the strength of her electro skills which can boost your team and create some awesome elemental reactions.
Lastly, Amber is useful for puzzles and can come in handy in an emergency whenever you need to blow something up with Pyro attacks, however, if you already have Yoimiya, forget about her.
Catalyst characters
Mona is one of the best supports because she can immobilize multiple enemies at once, allowing for Cryo reactions, and her taunting ghost can protect your other units.
Thanks to his bombs and high base attack stats, Klee can become as strong as a supernova in battle, though his restricted range can prove tricky.
Sucrose can launch enemies into the air with his Anemo skills, and his Burst allows him to do good elemental reactions in a gigantic vortex.
Ningguang's unique shield can help shape the fight as it blocks projectiles and grants buffs, and its attacks can deal high DPS. Yanfei has a lot of powerful charged attacks thanks to his Scarlet Seals passive, which increases his damage potential. Meanwhile, Sangonomiya Kokomi is the new healer of choice, as all of her abilities are purely based around surviving your team, vital against the toughest of opponents.
Barbara is another great healer, fantastic for emergencies, although she has the lowest base attack in the game. Lisa's Electro skills are good due to her high base ATK, but they are only little use compared to other Electro characters.
Claymore characters
Diluc is one of the best DPS characters in the game, with the highest base attack power and devastating Pyro abilities. Eula is also another great alternative, as she can deal massive amounts of physical damage with her stacks, Cryo abilities, and fast strikes.
Razor is among the best close combat characters thanks to skills that increase his melee damage, however, his lack of usefulness with elemental reactions can be quite difficult to deal with. Noelle is a bit weak compared to others, however, her defensive stats and abilities make her one of the most tanky characters in the game. Sayu can deal damage and also heal party members, and her elemental skill deals damage. impressive amounts of damage as she spins around the battlefield.
Chongyun's Cryo abilities allow him to do a lot of elemental reactions, which can immobilize and defeat any enemy if paired with a good Hydro character.
Beidou is a character with explosive power who can handle any challenge you face, however, a lot depends on how you upgrade her powers as she starts out relatively weak.
As for Xinyan, she has the best base attack of all 4-star characters, a good option in case you don't have Diluc or a reliable Pyro character on hand.
Polearm Characters
Hu Tao's attacks can deal large amounts of Pyro DMG through her elemental skills, and combined with her burst, she can become a high damage OP dealer. The Raiden Shogun has shocked her way to the next level, thanks to her majestic Electro abilities, which, combined with her passive energy regeneration, make her one of the best items to carry around on your team.
Zhongli's geographic abilities make him one of the most sought after characters in the game, with high damage and plenty of resilience in combat. Xiao is a DPS-based character, capable of hitting multiple enemies at once. Mastering his burst can be absolutely devastating to enemies.
Xiangling is a good alternative Pyro character thanks to his area skills and fast attacks, and Thoma is also a great choice due to his powerful shields which give you a brief Pyro affinity and more resilience during battle.
Rosaria's arsenal makes her a very useful character for her Cryo AoE reactions, but compared to other Cryo characters her usefulness is very limited.
sword characters
Although Bennett doesn't have impressive attack stats, his damage and healing bonuses along with good elemental control make him one of the best utility characters in the game. Moving on to Xingqiu, his elemental skills can provide a reduced DMG as large elemental reactions, making this a fantastic under-DPS unit.
Kaedehara Kazuha has potential both as a DPS and as a support with Anemo abilities that can smash your enemies and create incredible elemental reactions.
Kamisato Ayaka is also a great damage dealer, while his Cryo Affinity can generate plenty of damage reactions to help take down enemies.
Keqing has some of the best stat combinations which, along with her electro power, make her an incredible melee fighter, while Albedo has skills that make him more viable when dealing with hordes of enemies.
Jean's versatility as a support and sub-DPS is fantastic for your team, with CC abilities and HP regeneration, Qiqi has good attack stats as well as healing abilities that affect your entire team, and Kaeya is one of those characters who after the start of the main story, comes up against another sword user, however, their cryo skills can sometimes come in very handy.
Finally, Traveler's attacks can deal decent damage in its Electro variant, as well as some useful elemental reactions. Its Anemo variant can also be useful for some quick fights or when Pyro and Electro effects are in play, and finally, we don't recommend its Geo variant, as there are plenty of more useful Geo characters.
And with that, our Genshin Impact character tier list has come to an end.
That said, you should expect everything to come in Genshin's 2.3 update, as your 473ur journey of Inazuma is still far from over.
-
Read more: Genshin Impact 2.3: Release Date, Gorou and Itto's Debut, Featured Events, Weapons, Artifacts, and More
In the meantime, be sure to check out our dedicated Genshin Impact section, where you can find all the news, guides, and previews you desire, as well as our Genshin Impact Twitter account.
Image courtesy of miHoYo.
